


Koi No Yokan Extra Scene #1

by petalouda85



Series: Koi No Yokan Deleted and Extra Scenes [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Nothing really noteworthy here except for cuteness!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-11
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-07-11 02:33:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15962834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/petalouda85/pseuds/petalouda85
Summary: Paro receives a special item and learns something shocking about Nikolai





	Koi No Yokan Extra Scene #1

**Author's Note:**

> A (very early) birthday present for the amazing [CalicoJinx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CalicoJinx) (kelleyxmarie on Tumblr)
> 
> Also, there may be some information in here that Nikolai speaks about that might not make sense (namely a person named Ivan) but I have an upcoming fic where most (if not all of it) is explained.

“Ay, Paro!” The quiet morning in Paro’s councilors’ room was pierced by the excited shouts for Neelam emanating from the hallway. At the shout, she lost focus of Neerav’s voice reading a document to her and she turned her head to the entrance where Neelam came running through only seconds later. “Paro!” They panted, holding a package in their hand in excitement.

“Neelam!” Neerav scolded, rising from his seat. “You might be the Queen’s  _raaj daee maanji_  but that gives you no excuse to just barge in like that, especially when she is dealing with business of state.”

“Thousand apologies, Grand Vizier.” Neelam said, giving a quick bow to the man before holding out the package to Paro. “This came for you just now.”

“Already?” Paro inquired, taking the package in excitement. She was ready to rip the paper off but before she did, she turned to her Vizier. “We’ll continue later. You’re dismissed.” She could feel his displeasure at their work being interrupted so suddenly but he didn’t voice his disdain, only bowing before limping out of the room. Once gone, Paro ripped the paper off of the package, the item dropping onto her lap. She quick touched it, confirming to her that it was a book.

“Is it the correct one?” Paro asked, holding the book to Neelam.

“It looks like Rus to me.” They said with a chuckle.

“I didn’t expect it to come this quickly.” Paro said as she opened the book and played around with the thin slips of paper, enjoying the smooth feeling of the new pages. “Are there any pictures?”

“I see some.” Neelam stopped her flipping to the next page. “Here’s one.”

“What’s on it?”

“There are twelve young ladies. I think they might be princesses and they appear to be dancing in some garden.”

“Amazing.” Paro whispered to herself.

“It is, isn’t it? Pity neither of us can read Rus.” They responded with a forlorn sigh, though Paro knew they were being sarcastic, likely with a small teasing grin on their face.

“Well, good thing we know someone who does.” Paro responded with an equally cheeky grin. The Queen set off to find Nikolai, hoping he would agree to read the stories to her. He had taught her to speak a little bit of his language but she was still missing much vocabulary; she hoped that him reading fairytales to her would help her learn new words.

As she anticipated, she found him in one of the gardens. As it turned out, he had an extensive knowledge of plants and knew how to care for them. Of course, this knowledge was extended to plants native to Kievan Rus, a planet with a much colder climate to Ge, but he had learned quickly and he spent a few hours in the day caring for the flowers and the plants. As Paro entered, she wasn’t surprised to see Yelena darting around as well.

“Your Majesty.” The man said with a chuckle when he saw the Queen coming towards, rising to his feet and bowing his head.

“It’s still odd hearing you call me that.”

“It’s still odd calling you Paro. I still see you as Jaya sometimes.” The two chuckled at his retort.

“You can call me Jaya if it’s easier for you.”

“No, it’s alright. I’ll get used to Paro. So,” he said as he removed his soiled gloves, “what brings you here?”

Eagerly, Paro handed him the book.

“What is this?”

“A book.” She answered, frowning as soon as the words left her mouth; it was painfully obvious that it was a book. “I was hoping you could read it to me.”

“Why me? Why not droid?”

“You’re an avid storyteller and you could bring the story to life more than a droid could. And I think it would help me learn Rus a bit better.”

Nikolai merely looked at the book in silence, opening it and turning the pages slowly, examining the words and the pictures, while Paro sensed hesitancy in him. With a sigh, he closed the book.

“Paro... I must confess, I don’t know how to read.”

“What?”

“I can’t read.” He repeated, looking sullenly at the book before handing it back in defeat. “I’m sorry.” He put his gloves back on and resumed his work, though he immediately stopped when Paro kneeled down next to him.

“You never learned?”

“Very little. Ivan tried to teach me but it did not work. I could understand letters but not words. I have... condition, it makes reading difficult. I don’t know what it’s called in Basic.”

“What is it called in Rus then? Maybe I’ll know it.”

“ _Disleksiya_.”

“Dyslexia. You have dyslexia?”

“Yes.” He stopped his work, looking at the ground as if in shame. “With day to day practice, I was decent reader but slow one. But it’s difficult to practice every day when you have no books and you worry about when your next meal is.” He looked at Paro. “I am really sorry I can’t read that to you.”

“It’s alright.” Paro said softly. “Maybe…” She hesitated for a moment but then held the book to him. “Maybe you should keep it. Perhaps you can use it to start practicing again.”

“Are you sure? It’s beautiful book. And unique here.”

“I have no doubt about that but considering that my sight hasn’t been extended to reading letters, and probably never will, I have no use for this. And I’m not so vain that I would keep it to show off wealth or a knowledgeable mind. And I don’t think many would be happy to know that I have a foreign book in my collection.”

“You never cease to amaze me, Paro.” Nikolai responded with the smallest hint of a small, taking the book from her hand. “If you want me to read this to you eventually, you will have to wait quite a long time before I can do that.” With a fond smile, Paro responded,

“That’s alright. I can wait.”

**Author's Note:**

> Link to the main fic: [Koi No Yokan](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9924077/chapters/22238624)
> 
> Come bug me on Tumblr: [petalouda85.tumblr.com](http://petalouda85.tumblr.com)


End file.
